


What the Heart Wants

by fizzygingr



Category: Kamen Rider OOO
Genre: Date Akira is the only sensible person on this team, Gen, Relationship Advice, background Date/Gotou, but Eiji has a crush on Ankh, but we can't pretend it's like a healthy relationship, look I ship it, not exactly Eiji/Ankh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 04:28:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21191570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fizzygingr/pseuds/fizzygingr
Summary: Eiji goes to Date for romantic advice. Date almost wishes he hadn't.





	What the Heart Wants

**Author's Note:**

> The working title for this fic was “Eiji my sweet summer child you cannot fix this fucking murder creature with your dick”
> 
> Inspired in part by this ridiculous photo, which I have saved to my phone  
:  
[](https://ibb.co/9gC1rz0)

Date is slinging his canister over his shoulder, and about to head out of the restaurant, when Eiji catches his attention.

“Hey, Date-san! Can I, uh, ask you something?”

He turns around to see Hino biting his lip and picking at the fringe of his poncho.

“Sure,” he says. Then, cautiously, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Great! So you and Gotou, you’re like...kissing and stuff, right?”

“What do you mean ‘stuff’?” He asks, raising an eyebrow and trying to keep a straight face.

Eiji’s face turns red so quickly that Date almost feels bad about it. “Oh, no, I don’t mean-”

“Relax, kid, I’m just messing with you.” He laughs, hoping Eiji will mirror him and be a little more at ease. “Yeah, we are. For some time now, really, but he doesn’t like me showing him off. Why?”

“Can I, um, ask for advice?”

Date finds himself smiling, big and bright like the warmth he feels in his chest. Good. The kid needs something good in his life, a little fire to keep him going and maybe keep him warm at the same time. Someone to treat him right, better than he treats himself.

“Oooh?” he says. “You got a crush, Hino?”

“Well, maybe…”

He shrugs off his canister, setting it back on the ground, and throws an arm over Eiji’s shoulder. “Well, tell me about them! Are they tall, short, fat, thin? Good hair? Nice smile?”

“Kinda, no, no, yes, definitely, wouldn’t know,” he runs off in one breath.

“And...passionate,” he adds, while Date tries to catch up.

“Passionate, huh? Passionate’s good, Eiji! About what?”

“Um…”

“About _ you?” _

“Sometimes? I think?” he answers, hands in his pockets. “Sometimes I’m not so sure. Usually he seems to care more about, um, other things.”

“Oh? What kind of things?”

Eiji bites his cheek and looks off to the side, clearly deliberating whether or not to say something. 

“Oh no. Something weird?”

“Well…”

“What kind of weird are we talking here, Eiji? Birthday cakes? I can dig it. Body pillows? Ehhh. Setting fires? You need to—” 

“Core medals.”

Core medals. Date’s not sure why he bursts out laughing. It’s some combination of amusement, surprise, whatever the exact opposite of surprise is, and panic. Core goddamn medals.

The kid is blushing furiously. “Look, I’m sorry I should go…”

“No, don’t go! Just…” He whistles. “Anko, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Eiji laughs nervously. “Not at all, no! Actually, it’s probably a terrible idea. But Date, I...he…”

“I know, I know, the heart wants what it wants. And it’s good for your heart to want something for itself. It’s been a while, yeah?”  
“It has.”

_ Weird thing to get you back into it, _Date thinks, but then again, maybe it’s not so weird at all. 

“Sit down,” he says, sliding into a booth. Eiji obliges.

“I think I get it,” Date muses. “Anko is a Greeed. He’s born from desire, made of desire, driven by desire...it makes sense for you to be drawn to that. And on top of all that, there’s that hair. _Really_ nice hair. And the way he’s eating popsicles all the time. Distracting, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Eiji admits. “Yesterday he made eye contact with me while he was doing it.”

“Damn. Was that what got you thinking?”

“No. I mean, yes, but there was something before.”

“Oh?”

“He got angry. He pushed me against a wall and told me I need to get my act together.”

Date waits for Eiji to say more, but Eiji is just looking at him expectantly.

“So...you’re into that, huh?”

“No! Well, I mean…”

“Again, kid, the heart wants what— ”

“It was more than that, though,” he interjects. “Ankh’s gotten angry at me before, lots of times. But it’s always for not helping him get medals. Or for putting myself in danger, but only because he needs me to get medals. But this time he was just talking about me. And he was upset, too, like he really cared what happened to me. He tried to pretend like he wasn’t, but. Well, he left the room, and he wouldn’t look me in the eye.”

“Not until the thing with the popsicle?”

“Yeah.”

“Which reminds me, Hino, I probably don’t need to tell you this, but you know that until Anko gets his own body back..”

“Right, I would never! That’s the officer’s body!”

“An arm can do plenty on its own, though, if you want some pointers…”

“I...we’re probably getting ahead of ourselves, yeah? I mean, you can’t think this is a good idea.”

Date sighs. “I don’t. I don’t think you do, either.”

Hino bites his cheek again, and stares down at his hands. Date waits patiently. Finally, he takes a big breath in and sighs.

“I should tell you what happened.”

_ Ankh pushed him up against the wall, his eyes burning, his muscles taut. “Don't you ever want something for yourself?” he spat._

_ Ankh’s right hand was pressed against Eiji’s chest, while his left hand, his own hand, held his chin like he was ready to snap his neck. Eiji felt Ankh’s talons sharp against his cheek, and his breath hot on his face. He looked frightening and frightened, and beautiful._

_ Ankh’s eyes widened. “Oh...oh, you do want something, don’t you?” _

_ Eiji parted his lips, but said nothing. _

_"You do," he said, smirking. Then acid crept back into his voice.“But you’re too much of a coward to go after it." _

_He released his grip with one final shove and turning toward the door._

_Eiji watched him leave, his thoughts a whirlwind, his heart pounding in his chest. He wasn't sure what he was doing, but-_

_ “Ankh, wait!” he called._

_ Ankh paused in the doorway, but didn't turn around. _

_ “Get your own body back, and we’ll talk.” _

“Hino.”

“I know .”

“Hino, Hino, Hino…”

“I know, Date-san.”

“You didn’t lead with this?”

“To be fair, it’s kind of a lot.”

“Yeah, kiddo, it is.”

“I’m kind of freaking out right now.”

“Can’t say I blame you.”

“But, Date,” he says. “When I said it, it felt...good? You said the heart wants what it wants. Well, I think my heart wants this.”

Date looks and him and raises an eyebrow. “Your heart? Or a different part of your body?”

“My heart, Date-san. That’s the thing. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s...well. But I like him because he gives me a chance to be OOO. To help people. And now I know that he cares about me too. He’s changing, Date. He’s becoming a better person.”

“Look, kiddo,” Date says. He puts a finger to Eiji’s chest. “Your heart? That can make people better. I know it can, I’ve seen it myself. Other parts of you, though? That doesn’t work, and trust me, it's not worth trying.”

“I know. I mean, I think I know. But I like him, and he likes me, and he helps me, and…” he groans, and buries his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”

Date sighs. If he doesn't help the kid, he's scared to think who will. “All right. You want some advice, Hino?”

“Please.”

“Wait. Want it, don’t stop yourself from wanting it, but wait. Be patient. See what happens. And uh...if you don’t have _his_ hand, your own hand will also-”

“Okay. Okay, thanks Date.” He stands up from the booth. “Uh. I should go now. Bye.”

“Hino,” Date calls after him.

“Yes?”

“Be careful, yeah?”

“I’ll...I’ll try.”

As he disappears through the door, Date whistles and leans back in the booth. He leans back farther. It’s not far enough.

“Hey, Chiyoko,” he calls toward the kitchen. “Please tell me you’ve got a drink.”


End file.
